The PhanArt Poster and Pin Exhibition: Chicago, featuring a wide variety of artists who draw inspiration from the music of Phish, will be held on Sunday, July 20th, 2014 from 12pm-5pm at the historic Congress Plaza Hotel, 520 South Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL located near Grant Park. This one of a kind art show, created and produced by Pete Mason, will be held on the final day of Phish's three night stand at Chicago's FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island.

The initial lineup announced for the PhanArt Poster and Pin Exhibition: Chicago represents a wide array of artists from among the Phish art community. Longtime Phish artists Ryan Kerrigan, TRiPP, Isadora Bullock, Michael Boyer and Jeff Nesbit are all familiar names with fans from past shows. Each will have a large portfolio of current and past concert poster art to exhibit from a wide range of musical acts.

Phil Kutno, best known for his expressive oil, pencil and lithographs of American music icons will have his work on display. Screenprint artist Paul Bohensky brings a unique styles of posters to the PhanArt show for the first time, while Melissa Goldenberg's line of Phish inspired jewelry, clothing and accessories will surely find an audience. Graphic Translations Tees and Fred Sutter will each have a wide array of t-shirt designs normally found on lot.

Pin makers and designers Adam Davidoff of Phishcoins, Noah Phence, Adrian Sharpe of StuPINdous Creations, Pin me Down, Andrew Bryant, and Party Time Pins will feature ever-popular pin series and designs, as well as other items made specifically for the Chicago shows and Summer Tour 2014.

Non-profits include The Mockingbird Foundation, the Phish fan charity which also maintains and operates the Phish.net website and published the popular series of The Phish Companion books (the 3rd edition set to be released at the end of 2014) and which has awarded grants for music education totaling more than $700,000 over the past 15 years; Screens 'n' Suds, whose mission to spread the appreciation of craft beer and screen printed art has raised over $115,000 for the National MS Society and other charities, and PhanArt, a book and website created as a way to showcase the art made by Phish fans, raising money for The Mockingbird Foundation through donations from artists and fans, totaling over $15,000 since 2009.

For the first time at a PhanArt Exhibition, a curated playlist from Wyllys, specific for the show, will set the tone for the day, providing an audio component to accompany the visual aspects of the art show. Wyllys has proved himself on an international level as a DJ and band leader with dates in Jamaica, Amsterdam, British Colombia, and the Mayan Riviera as well as some of the biggest festivals in the US such as Bonnaroo, Electric Forest, and Mountain Jam. Of late the prolific DJ has scaled back touring to work on original material in the studio but still manages to make regular stops at Brooklyn Bowl and Tonic Room in Chicago. This playlist highlights some of his favorite funk and new disco tracks as well as some new genres like Future Hop.

For this particular playlist, Wyllys represents Blank Space Media, a collaborative digital agency, business incubator and talent cooperative carefully engineered to capitalize on the realities of today's economy. The culture of "Silicon Valley" has embedded itself into the highest echelons of American thought and behavior. Sometimes the best ideas lose out to those with better execution or simply bigger bank accounts. There isn't enough {blank space} to go around. For more information: blankspacestrategies.com

Phish Art shows have been held since 2003 with great success. Unique posters, pins, shirts, stickers and much more are made for Phish shows, making the PhanArt Poster and Pin Exhibition: Chicago, a must-attend event during Phish tour. Produced by Pete Mason, founder of PhanArt and author of PhanArt: The Art of the Fans of Phish, and presented by The Mothership Art Collective, a group comprised of artists and organizations who promote the art inspired by the eclectic band Phish, the art exhibition represents a continued effort to promote and exhibit original and unique concert art from a wide variety of artists. The eclectic artists featured at this event show the broad scope of Phish related art and capture the inspiration of the band in their art. Phish's creative fan base makes amazing art inspired by the band, their music and the locales they play.

In keeping with the great tradition and success of past art shows, the PhanArt Poster and Pin Exhibition: Chicago, will offer free entry to all patrons and tubes available for purchase. More artists will be announced in late-June, as well as special edition works only available at the show, which will be available for viewing on PhanArt.net.

If you liked this blog post, one way you could "like" it is to make a donation to The Mockingbird Foundation, the sponsor of Phish.net. Support music education for children, and you just might change the world.

Comments

Is it too late to submit work for the show? What level of development are you looking for in the artist's portfolios?

That would be a question better answered by the show's principal organizer, Pete Mason. You can contact him and submit copies of your work or links, etc. His contact information can be found on his websites, PhanArt.net (reachable from "Phish Links" on right footer below).

Phish.net is a non-commercial project run by and for Phish fans under the
auspices of the all-volunteer, non-profit Mockingbird Foundation. This project
serves to compile, preserve, and protect encyclopedic information about Phish
and their music. But we need your help!